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Monday, January 31, 2011

We were up early just in case the freezing rain has started, had our coffee, Donna left for the truck company. and about 08:00AM I decided just to be safe to make a quick run to Shop & Save for a couple of items even though we had stocked up earlier in the week. As I was pulling out of the driveway it started with the freezing rain, I made a quick stop at the store, no more than 30 minutes and in just that time the roads were icy, 4 wheel drive and 10mph, but I did see Dardenne Prairies only salt truck pulling out of the parking lot as I passed the City Hall, so they were starting as soon as they could.

Donna called and said she would work through her lunch hour and leave early, I hope when she leaves the State and County trucks are out, all they can due is keep spreading salt and brine spray, luckily the temperature is right at 30 still, so that mix of brine and salt should still be effective. This is supposed to keep up all night turning to snow late and then snow all day and night Tuesday. Oh boy.

Have to wait now until she is safely in the door, I think tonight will be a Hamburgers and Mac & Cheese night with a vegetable, nothing fancy. My son Andy has decide to try and start his own remodeling and rehabbing Company, He said the same thing my son Tim did when he started into building houses, why work for somebody else I think I'll try working for myself. I hope he is successful, When Tim started the economy was way up and houses were selling like crazy, I don't know that now is a good time to start any business, but time will tell, he claims a lot of people are fixing up instead of buying new now.

Well that's it for now, the news is saying " Midwest bracing for major blizzard" so all we can do is wait and see. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Up early and the usual morning coffee, Sadie was still napping on our bed so I decided to keep her company, next thing I know and hour gone by and Sadie's wide awake. I could smell those delicious weekend smells coming from the Kitchen and went in and Donna was baking a Gooey Butter cake, I just love those and the way she makes them they are sugarless with Splenda, so I can happily enjoy them.

After breakfast I found out today would be a day of reckoning for me, since Christmas, Donna has been asking me to trim my beard, I have said sure, and did the manly thing and would just hope she would forget about it, about once a week she would remind me and I would say "sure Hon", Well today she said were trimming that beard today, I don't mind it when it's trimmed like your buddies on the blogs, I guess she means RICK, & AL, because she said the both have neatly trimmed white beards and look nice, hear that guys. Anyway she said mine looked wild and she didn't mind the Santa Claus look up till Christmas but that's been over for a month, I knew from experience I was doomed.

The before, at the Olive Garden around Christmas.

My son Andy doing the trimming.

Rigg's supervising my son Andy doing the trimming.

The After, Donna said I look ten years younger, Yeah Right,

Anyway I lived through it so, other than that Rigg's and Sadie were in their prime this morning, after each finished their bowl of dog food, Rigg's stole Sadies's food dish and she chased him around the kitchen stealing it back, and forth,until they tired of it then they changed to one of Sadie's toys, She is fearless and goes right into Rigg's mouth to get what she wants.

Rigg's and Sadie at play.

Then to top it off Rigg's stole a pair of Donna's panty's out of the laundry basket , him and Sadie had a fun time trying to keep it away from her. Of course Donna didn't take a picture of that.

Rigg's is an inveterate panty stealer, I'm going to have to have a talk with him so I won't have to register him as a sex offender. However he does like the remotes for any electronic device, and will steal those if they are not put up.

Tonight Donna is fixing a big pot of homemade stew, can't wait, I told you guys we eat good here in Dardenne Prairie, and Donna would rather have home cooked meals than eat out, I guess when you work at a restaurant it does that to you.

For all you Canadians who are in love with weather talk, we are supposed to have two days of freezing rain and then Wednesday snow possible up to 15 inches, That much and John and I will be plowing in about 6 inch intervals to keep up with it, and the worse part is if there is ice under it it will be a bear to plow.

Oh well maybe the forecast will change and it will miss us, although we live along I-70 and that is MO's snow belt.

Well that's about it for today, I hope everyone is having a good time ,sounds like the big group in Bouse AZ is having a ball, Glad to see that. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Up early with Donna, we had coffee, and the she decided, to nap a little longer, so I went downstairs to my office, I smelled something good like baking about an hour later and went upstairs, and Donna had hot blueberry muffins for me and was baking some cookies for one of the guys at the restaurant for tonight, I said what happened to the nap, and she said you know me on weekends I have to bake something.

I was hoping to take the two kids, Nicole & Chris out to see some bald eagles, but their Mom wanted to take them shopping, so I had a lazy stay at home afternoon, I did work on a model steam engine that wouldn’t run and fabricated some brass pick up shoes to rub against the back of the drive wheels and pick up current from the track, the original was a poor design and was always stalling. It ended up working great.

I am heating the oven now for a pizza, the kids should be home soon, I am going to pop it in as soon as they get in, Grandpa is hungry too.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

That’s about it Donna left for the restaurant at 04:00PM, so far she doesn’t have to work tomorrow so she will have one full day off this week. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Friday, January 28, 2011

Up early the Kitchen thermometer read 30 degrees outside,supposed to hit 41 today and tomorrow, then start dropping again, and snow Sun or Monday. We had our morning coffee together and then Donna headed out for the truck company, and then the restaurant, I headed down for the computer in my office, did some blogging, Adam's Mom called this morning and asked if I could pick him up after school, so I said sure, then she said she wanted to know if I could bring him back tomorrow morning, I said , well you know it doesn't make sense to make two almost 50 mile round trips just to spend the night, the fuel alone is around $15 , so she said yeah your right, I didn't think about that. I would like to have had him for the weekend, as I had planned on taking the three kids to see the Bald Eagles on the river. But She mentioned something about her Mom having plans so I just kept quiet and said okay tell him I'll see him next week.
I'm pretty sure Chris and Nicole will still be here so maybe the three of us will just go and enjoy an afternoon out.
I think I will postpone pizza night until Saturday when the kids are here, that way we can eat almost a whole one.
Not much going on I hope Donna doesn't get called in for Sunday at the restaurant like the last two weeks that will give her a full day off for a change.
Hopefully in a month or so the weather will start warming back up and I can start my spring projects, like checking the brakes on the truck and a little piddling on the trailer, if we can swing it I want to replace the TV in the entertainment center with a HD flat screen like the one I put in the bedroom last spring, that would give us a nice TV in both rooms and I will mount it on a swivel mount so it will swing out and we will have extra storage behind it where that big old TV is now. That Vizio we bought last year has a great picture, and Wal Mart has the Vizio's on sale, all the time and I can get one for the living room for around $400.
Not much going on, didn't leave the house today at all, I will walk down and check the mail in a little bit, and then decide what to do about supper, I asked what time the kids would be over and he said he thought Samantha & him were taking them out for dinner, so I only have to plan for one again.
I finished all those meatballs, last night I had one Hoagie bun left and two meatballs left, with a little sauce and some pizza cheese sprinkled on top and then wrapped in foil and put in the oven made a great meatball sub.
When you make meatballs at this place, they don't last long, my son Andy ate about 14 of them since Monday, but he is still a growing boy of 29.
Have a great day wherever you are maybe some pictures tomorrow, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Thursday, January 27, 2011

It was a cold 18 degrees when I got up this morning, it looks like it will slowly warm up today to 36 degrees, that will be welcome around here.

We had our morning coffee and Donna headed out to the truck company, tonight she has the restaurant, so I will be fixing supper for one, I have a lot of choices though, Rigg's and Sadie played the afternoon away, they sure know how to entertain each other, Rigg's has never been much of a barker, a couple of woof's if he hears a car coming up the drive, you never get a growl out of him, Sadie on the other hand makes up for size by being vocal, she joins right in when Rigg's woofs, and when they are playing tug she growls lustily, and Rigg's just silently tugs, it quite funny to watch the two of them at play.

Watched a movie today on Trolleys, or streetcars in Scranton PA and Wilkes Barre Pa in the 40's and 50's. It was so neat to see all the streets I knew and the old cars and the way people dressed and the way the houses looked before remodeling. I was 5years old when the last streetcar ran so I barely remember them, but I know they provided the way to work for most people back then when not everyone owned a car.

Now the County provides bus service , but it is a shell of what it used to be two or three runs a day , when I was a kid a bus came along every 15 minutes or so.

Another slow day around Dardenne Prairie, It was trash day so I went and got the dumpster after it was emptied.Not much else going on, I hope we are done with snow for awhile. I hope to hear from Adam to pick him up after school tomorrow, Chris and Nicole will be coming over for the weekend. So we should have a full house again. I guess I'll plan a pizza night for tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Started the day off with morning coffee, Donna headed out to the truck company , she has the restaurant tonight, so I will be batching it, with the dogs, Sorry if I left you hanging yesterday, but I finally decided on Scalloped potatoes, and ham for supper. Can't beat a good ham. Tonight will be those delicious meatballs and spaghetti left over from Monday night, so I will eat good tonight, maybe a couple of high Life lights to wash it down.

In kind of a bloggers slump today, plus my desktop continues to act up and run slow and is just not right, it won't accept the Chrome downloads even when I remove the program with the control panel, so it must have a registry problem, I know what it needs is to be wiped clean and start over , but I hate going through all that.

Oh well maybe I'll just start looking for something a little bigger and faster, Just have to see how the money goes.

I see several of my blogger friends are in Bouse AZ. for the warm weather there. I hope they have a great time, my list of places we want to see keeps getting bigger.

Had another buddy from my old Navy Squadron get a hold of me on face book, Doug Wainright, He made a Med cruise with me on the USS Shangri-La in 1967. Sure was nice to hear from him, he found me on a search engine.

Boy your blogs sure come under some scrutiny you don't think about, he said he searched our Squadron HC-2 and there was some of my blog entries where I mentioned the squadron or had pictures in it. He was certainly impressed and I scored a couple of pictures from 1967 of the two of us I will share at a later date.

Not much else going on, I will see ya all sown the road soon. be safe out there. Sam & Donna....

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Up at 04:30AM and coffee with the bride, the pups played on the bed, while Donna got ready for work, Rigg's probably would have been content with just laying there, but Sadie was wound up so they ended up playing.

Donna headed for the truck company and I went down to the computer, My Google Chrome wouldn't work just a blank white screen would come up. I removed the program, and then re downloaded and reinstalled it , and still the same. So I am back on Internet Explorer, The DSL and wireless are working so Maybe Rick has some idea's, As long as I still have internet and can receive mail and publish a blog , life will go on as we know it.

Had some laundry to do, and not much else today, it is going to stay about 30 degree's so I can live with that, not as bone chilling as last week.

One of those days where i don't have a clue for supper tonight, plenty of food, as I went and stocked up yesterday so I will have to wait till the last minute and think of something,Don't want that girl of mine to come home and not have a hot supper waiting for her. Tomorrow is a restaurant night, so I have to take care of her tonight.

That's about it here in Dardenne Prairie, the truck didn't turn a wheel and I stayed inside all day. Hope everyone is having a good day even if it turns out to be a lazy one like mine. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Woke up to a heat wave of sorts, 28 degrees on the kitchen window, what a break, it might be above freezing today. A welcome to a new follower BARNEYGIRL,I couldn't find a blog on her listing so if you have one share it with us, I hope you enjoy reading about the goings on here at the Weeb Ranch in Dardenne Prairie MO.

After coffee with Donna and then her heading to work I just laid around for a couple hours, watching a steam train movie, I just feel like something is sneaking up on me, but about 10:00AM I went to Shop & Save for some groceries, I always like going the day after a storm as the shelves have been refilled and nobody is shopping because they went before the storm.

Got fresh ground beef, it really looked good, so when I got home I took 2 1/2 lbs of it and my big mixing bowl, and some eggs and breadcrumbs, onions, seasonings, parmesan cheese and I mixed up a big bowl of Grandma Genett meatballs, Have you ever noticed how cold hamburger is and how fast your hands get cold mixing it up.

That was my Grandmother from Italy, and I have been told I have the best meatballs like hers. That equates to about 24 nice sized meatballs, after cooling I put them in about 2 gallons of sauce, to simmer at the lowest setting just a couple of bubbles at a time, for the rest of the afternoon. You can't beat the smell of a kitchen with freshly fried meatballs and then the sauce simmering away. The poor dogs must be in sensory overload as they are just lying on the rug in the kitchen with big smiles. Oh yeah and some French bread to heat in the oven with the spaghetti tonight, Maybe if I can find a candle I can set a place for Rigg's and Sadie like in Lady & the Tramp. How romantic.

Speaking of grocery stores, since a lot of you are traveling, and I kind of went over this in my pizza post, do you guys notice the big difference in stock and prices from one area to another. Here in the StLouis/StCharles MO. area the big names are Dierberg's, (Highest end), Schnucks, Shop & Save, Aldies, And of course Wal Mart at the super centers. We generally shop at either Schnucks or Shop & Save as they are about the same in price but have a little different selections. I used to joke with friends that when you start seeing the Winn Dixie tracks you know you are in the south, I think they have them now as far north as KY. Meijer is popular in OH. Price Chopper out east, Shop-Rite I know was popular in New Jersey.Piggly Wiggly comes to mind in NE. I guess we have shopped in a lot of them. Just curious how your shopping habits change as you travel.

Remember when your choices for fuel, were Gulf, Esso, & Sunoco, Now you haven't a clue what is going into your vehicle, just hopefully it will burn.

Here is a picture for my buddy Don, K&DINTHERV, he is retired from CNRR and here is a picture of one of their brand new locomotives, don't know what model it is but it is fresh from the GMD factory in London Ontario. The picture was taken over on the east side in Illinois on IC tracks. CN owns IC now.

You could smell the fresh paint still.

The crew said it was brand new on it's first trip but I suspect from the lack of road dirt it was assembled in London and painted in LaGrange Il. Then it made it's first trip south, that would explain the fresh paint and only hours of travel on it. Still a real beauty, it won't stay that way long.In the winter no railroad washes it's power much, in summer the BNSF has a washer in Chicago IL. & one in Richmond Ca. on the transcon route, and they keep their fleet fairly clean, UP does it just the opposite and has a big wash rack at North Platte NE. in the middle of their system and they seem to get a lot of units washed, again that's in warm weather only, this time of the year they grind back and forth and stay dirty dirty.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

When I got up at 05:00AM instead of the 6 inches of snow I was expecting to find, we just had a light dusting less than an inch, About 08:00AM Adam's Mom called and said she was leaving Warrenton to come and pick him up as it had just started to flurry again, It is about a 25 mile drive on the interstate, well it seemed like as soon as I hung up and started getting Adam to pack his bag and get his stuff together, it started to really snow, by the time Shana arrived we had about another inch and it didn't show any sign of slowing, so they left to head back and called about an hour later and said they had just made it home and the roads were snow covered and bad. There won't be any school out there tomorrow so I have to wonder why he just didn't stay and I could have drove him home later in the week, in a 4 wheel drive truck. Anyway just something else to worry about.

Donna had to work at the restaurant from 10 AM to 05:00PM , It's been snowing all day and we have several more inches of snow so when it stops John Deere and I have a date.

I backed the truck out of the garage and shot the trailer. The poor Blessed Mother is frozen.

And the front of the house, maybe I should put the Canadian Flag up with the Canadian weather were having.

For some reason the camera didn't stop the snow flakes, but believe me they are falling.You can see that plowing is again needed.

I was going to go to the store and get the fixins for some homemade Grandma Genett meatballs, but that can wait until tomorrow and I am thawing some cube steaks and I'll have to try boiling some potatoes, without RICK"S special Irish instructions.

Were basically a good ole country meat & potatoes family anyway.

I keep having this dream that my son will walk in and say "hey Dad, I'll plow for you it's pretty cold out there. "

Will someone just hit me in the back of the head with a ball peen hammer so I will regain my senses, and just put my Carhart's on and go on down and fire John up.

Now with Adam gone even the dog's are quiet, I guess the noise of the tractor will liven things up for a little while.

For all you guys like my friends in California & Arizona that are enjoying the pools and hot tubs, all I can say is a hot shower after plowing is just as therapeutic, and it also thaws out frozen hands and feet so they don't hurt as much. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saturday dawned really cold about 8 degrees on the old kitchen window, Before I go to far I want to Welcome a new follower BRIAN'N'TRICIA, They have a blog, but I must be doing something wrong because when I tried to open it I got a 2009 page, and then on their RV blog it said for the blog owner to contact them, so I will have to wait until it is straightened out. But anyway I welcome you to the utterly chaotic world of the Dardenne Prairie Bunch, here at the Weeb Ranch. We will be glad to have you observe our daily life in getting ready to fulltime and the trips we take before then.
Got a call early and Adam's Mom asked if she could drop him off, I told her that they were predicting another 6 inches of snow tonight, so there was no guarantee I would be getting him back To Warrenton MO. if the roads were bad, That was okay with her, so Adam arrived about 10AM.
Donna is off from the truck company so she baked a cake this morning and has to work the restaurant at 04:30PM.
She was catching up on blogs at the kitchen table so Rigg's took up his station laying against the kitchen chair, he is a contact dog and has to have a part of his body against you or your chair. Not to be outdone Sadie curled up in her spot next to Rigg's tummy and decided it was naptime. Big Brother makes little sister cozy.
I sometimes wonder how two completely different animals can bond like they do, it is sometimes hard to get kid's to get along like that and they understand what you are saying.
Not to much going on Adam is playing on his XBOX, so that keeps him busy, Chris & Nicole are at their Dad's this weekend, so we should have the house full next weekend.
If we get the snow Adam & Grandpa & John Deere will be busy in the morning,
This is from 02:30PM Saturday, the snow band extends way back across Kansas and is just about an hour from us now. It is supposed to snow all night from the looks of it it will. Last time it stall over the I-70 St Charles MO. area and we got about 5 inches more than we expected.
Well time will tell. Glad a lot of you are over with the cold wave and enjoying warmer weather. Maybe next time for us. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Yep it's Friday, it was 1 degree on the kitchen window when I poured my coffee this morning, so I knew to day was a go no where, not do much day, After Donna headed out for work I decided I would put together my pizza making post, I want everybody to know this is strictly a works for me thing, each of you have your own preferences and by all means try them out.

First I will start with the basic essentials the pans, for the big shells I brought from PA. I just bought a large aluminum pan like you would for a turkey at Thanksgiving, disposable and cheap, yet they hold up for about a half a dozen bakings.They big shells and the big pan will NOT fit in an RV oven, so stick with the smaller cake sheets or round pizza trays.When you do one in the RV.

Pans.

Next the shell or dough, I use one of three ways to go here, this time for ease of demonstration I will use one of the prepared and ready PA square shells, they can be found in stores all over in a round size that will fit you oven in the RV. I froze mine after getting them home, if you buy locally that is unnecessary. You can also use a pizza dough mix as shown I use two packages for a square pan, it just matters how thick a crust you want and how big pan you have. The other method I use is buying frozen loaves of dough, I didn't have any to show you here. but you just put a little flour on your pizza pan and put the frozen loaf down and let it that in the pan after you cover it loosely with a clean dish towel. After it rises I just flour my hands and press it out to the size of the pan and let it rise again for about 15-30 minutes.The mixes after they rise in a bowl covered with a towel I pour them onto the pan which has a little flour on it. and press them out the same way.

Shell or dough mix.

The sauce can be any kind you like, I used to cook whole tomatoes down in a frying pan with some tomato paste added until I had a nice saucy sauce. It took a couple hours and with the large amount of commercially available sauces out there, Ask yourself if it's worth the bragging rights to say I made the sauce from scratch, Not that I might not do it again, but pizza to me should be quick and easy and painless.

Some of the sauces out there.

Cheese, again it is going to depend on where you are what kind of cheese you are going to be able to use, Here in MO. I use roped Hoffman Provel from Wisconsin, and then I grate White American whatever their store brand is . For the American I buy it in about a 2 pound block and I grate it at home, The provel they have already in a rope form like you find in salads, so that it what I use, just find a cheese that will melt smoothly and not be to gooey like when you use straight provolone or mozzerella, I find that most people think of these as pizza cheeses and most pizza shops stay way from them. Ask you pizza place if he will recommend a good cheese.

The cheese's and the grator.

I also have a hand cheese grator that I take in the RV.

Next you add the sauce to the shell, I just usually pour some in the middle and work it with a spoon until the entire shell is covered, Again everyone's idea of how much is right is different, but the more you use the sloppier it is to cut.

After the sauce is done, I Liberally sprinkle Whole Oregano over the sauce, being Italian I may use more than most folks, but again do it to your taste.I also put a dash of Parmesan cheese on the sauce at this point. again let your taste govern this.

At this point would be where you would add the toppings you want, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, onions, just to name a few, since the grandkid's here will only eat a cheese pizza that is what I have to complete mine as. But add your topping and then go on to adding the cheese.

First the roped Provel.

Then the grated American.

A good hot oven between 375 and 400 for about 15 minutes with this shell will give you a nice brown crust and melted cheese that will have to sit for about 5 minutes or longer before it can be cut.

Like anything else I will probably have forgotten something, and agonize over it later , but I went step by step and Lord knows we do love our pizza here at the Weeb Ranch. I just put the whole shebang in the fridge and now all I will have to do is heat the oven later and pop it in.

What does is cost to make a big beauty like this, I would say about $9.00 to get that much pizza from a shop you would have to order a couple larges and that would be over $20. So it is economical, but not cheap. The cheese is what sets you back, but I buy enough to make two large for about $5.00 a pizza. the sauce is a dollar a pizza and the shell or mixes is $2.00 a pizza.

That's about it for today, I hope it was helpful and you all enjoy a great homemade pizza soon.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Woke up to 9 inches of snow and still falling at 04:30AM, Donna left at 05:00AM for the truck company, I waited until 09:00AM and then John Deere and I went out to do battle with the snow, I spent about an hour and a half and then I put John in the garage and now I'll wait until this afternoon and just have to touch up whatever we get before it stops completely.

Before plowing.

After plowing.

The Duramax is just sitting.

Rigg's is loving it. Here he is running in the snow.

John Deere doesn't mind piling the snow up.

The snow that is falling now is real fine and dry so even if we get a couple more inches it will plow fast now that I knocked the first 9 off. John is good for about a foot of snow, then I have to go to a bigger plow, so If I get out there and start while it is still snowing sometimes I can stay ahead of it.

Came in to let my hands and feet thaw out and made a bowl of Chicken Noodle soup, boy, was that good.

Donna sent an e-mail, she is the only one that made it into the office today. I don't think the restaurant will be busy unless they get all the streets plowed by 05:00PM, even then I don't think many people will go put to eat so she may have a short night tonight.

The temperature is 19 right now but is supposed to fall to 6 degree's tonight, who knows what the wind chill will be tomorrow morning when it's time for work again. Luckily she can park her SUV in my stall and my sons race car (camaro) is in her stall, so you see where that leaves my truck, out in the deep freeze, I don't plan on going anywhere but I will have to plug it in before I do.

Other than letting the dogs out once in awhile , not much going on in Dardenne Prairie, time comes to a stop during storms like this, so I will say see Ya until tomorrow. Be Safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Up as usual and coffee with Donna, then she was off to the truck company, and after that the restaurant. Before I go any further a big welcome to my latest follower, STEVE FINNELL I hope you enjoy descriptions of life here in Dardenne Prairie as we prepare for going fulltime in our 5th wheel.

It is supposed to begin snowing this evening and snow all night with an accumulation in our area of up to 6 inches.

That means John Deere will get a workout tomorrow morning and I will have to run for fuel before it starts snowing today.

I should have thought of that this morning when I made a run to the Walmart and then stopped at the Porcelain Palace, (White Castle) for a couple of belly bombs, about once a month I stop and then I'm good for the month.

Thanks for the kind words about my uniform day. For all you Harley Davidson fans I will tell you I always preferred a Harley to any other, just because of the way they sounded and the way they felt and held the road, A couple of our neighboring departments tried the Kawasaki's when they made their police specials, and they were a lot faster both in pickup and top speed, but for whatever reasons they all went back to the good ole Harley Davidson police special. I personally owned Harleys of my own and never had any trouble and put a ton of miles between Mo. & Pa. making several trip each summer. What did I prefer in police work, A car, that is just simple a no brainer, it was warmer, dryer and safer. on a bike you were a moving target and people would try to hit you. A bike is nice in a controlled environment on nice days on a nice country road, but in the law enforcement world it was an easy way to get hurt or killed. I.m sure the other guys that are bloggers and retired cops would tell you the same thing, a nice Crown Victoria or Chev Caprice, or Plymouth Fury was a lot safer than a Harley on the street.

Hey it is a no picture day again, and I am waiting to hear that my bride is safe at the restaurant which is only a couple of miles from Dardenne Prairie in O'Fallon MO. Then it can start snowing and I won't care. I shouldn't worry Donna has been driving a 50 mile commute every work day to St Louis Mo. all our married life, she is a country girl in a 4 wheel drive and is happy in all kinds of weather. But I still worry, So for all of you guys and gals in tee shirts and shorts, yes were jealous and we can't wait for the day we can join you. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Up at at em early again, then Donna was off to the truck company, Before I forget like I did yesterday, I have a new follower,GYMNONR, Welcome aboard Al, I hope you enjoy reading about the Dardenne Prairie Gang and our antics, trips and preparation for full timing.

Also yesterday my favorite Talian girl, NELLIE, asked if you could get to see a picture of me in my police uniform, Boy did that cause a scramble here, to think I spent more than 38 years of my life in different uniforms and I managed to find 4 from my PD days, I have one of when I was Chief at the Lake. Anyway, I am doing this reluctantly because the only ones I could find were at award ceremonies, or nearing retirement. All I will say about the awards is we worked a busy district, so stuff happened and a lot of guys got commendations.

Sgt Sam 1990

Chief, Me & the Mayor 1994

Mayor, Me & City Administrator, 1995

My Wife Donna, ME & my son Andrew, 1995

I have a bunch of police car pictures, but my absolute favorite is this one on the motorcycle.

As you can see right before I retired we changed from the LAPD style uniform to the MO Hwy Patrol style uniform.

The lighter blue was dressier looking and was cooler in the summer with a bullet proof vest under it.

Donna, Adam & Me When I was Chief at the Lake. 2001.

Thats enough for pictures for today, but I did take Rigg's to the Vet this morning to have his stitches removed, The Vet said he has healed just fine, I was really proud of him as he just laid there and let her snip them out and didn't move or make a sound when she pushed and prodded to make sure everything felt okay inside. But boy was he a happy camper when I said okay show Daddy his truck. I guess that officially makes him a Gelding now, but I know three girls named JODIE,COCO&SANDY. in Florida who will be glad of his change.

Not much going on in Dardenne Prairie today, the Sheriff's deputy stopped a speeder in front of the house, so that's about it for the excitement for today. I am glad they do check speed once in awhile , the limit is 35mph, and most cars wizz by at 50 or more. It was different when it was a two lane country road, but now with all the houses' and kids that is just to fast, the weird part is most of the speeders live in those new houses'.

Everybody be careful out there. See Ya one of these days. Sam & Donna..

Monday, January 17, 2011

Up at the early hour of 04:30AM and had our coffee, Donna was off to the truck company, Not much accomplished today, except for the first time in over ten years, I decided to take a ride in the the Police Department I retired from. A lot of guys can't stay away from their old haunts, but I have had other jobs and careers, and time just gets away from you so my son Andy & I took a ride into St Louis County to the Dellwood Police Office. There I met two guys that used to work for me, Lt. Fred Haunold, and Sgt. Kurt Solari. plus some young officers I had never met or never heard of me. It really turned out to be a great hour of reminiscing and catching up. All of our kids are grown, and the grandkids are coming up, they both got a big kick out of my beard. Of course I hear about how I used to have a dark mustache and hair. and now everything is white..Kurt gave me a new department ball cap since mine is showing it's age. All in all it was a nice visit.

I am sure glad that I don't have to ride the streets of that area again, as a lot of you who have never lived in a metropolitan area would say right away, whoa that is a bad neighborhood. But it was once a great area and the decline was well under way before I retired, in a way it doesn't look much different and the department has kept providing good equipment and training and it looks like it is pretty well up to date.

Anyway that was it and now I am back in my world, and I can watch the snow melt and count the days till we can get away.

Hope everyone is having a great day, Just waiting for Donna to come home , she said she would pick up dinner tonight so it will be a surprise. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Wow today is going to be a shorty, Donna volunteered for a shift at the restaurant from 11:00AM until 04:00PM, I had to take Adam back to Warrenton MO right after lunch, Chris and Nicole will be going home about the time Donna gets home, boy it is sure going to seem quiet around here. This morning there was a rousing game of Star Wars Jedi Knight, and even Rigg's got into the act by stealing a light saber that was left on the chair and then leading the merry chase around the house with three kids in pursuit, Grandpa stayed glued to the kitchen chair so I wouldn't get an appendage removed with a swift swipe of a light saber. It is so neat to have all that ruckus, but I guess that's why my Dad nicknamed my twin brother and I the Wrecking Crew, and when my next brother came along there were three of us , then my sister and then a fourth boy added more mayhem to our home, so now I have three here doing the same. I hope all of you out there with younger Grandkids get to have the same enjoyment that I do, of course Grandma keeps it in check when it gets too loud or rowdy. Donna was always the enforcer in this family, All she had to say was "That's It" and quiet was restored , at least for a short period. Well that's about it for today, no pictures, Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

It was 39 degrees when I got up this morning, but that was supposed to be the high for today and it will get colder as the day go's on. Supposed to be back in the 20's tonight for a few days. I took the three kids, Chris, Adam, & Nicole over to Pizza Street last night ( Friday), for the all you can eat buffet and of course then Grandpa passed out a couple bucks in quarters to each and they played in the arcade. As I have said before you just can't beat it for the price and I can feed the four of us for less the $20 and plus they enjoy the other kid's, if you have one in your area try it the pizza & pasta are good. I had to laugh, DONNA, from Sandwich, commented that my house IS The Pizza Street, one of these days I will devote a post on how I make a square pizza, from scratch, since the shells I brought back from PA and froze won't last forever, that's one of the reasons I took the kid's out, I forgot to take the shells out of the deep freeze and I just figured they deserved, a change and some fun time. The only thing is depending on where you are in the USA or Canada will depend on what types of cheese you use as the stuff I buy here is not available on the east coast or down south, so you may have to find out what you like or what your favorite pizza shop uses and substitute. That's what I did when I was up in PA.

Today was a great day, the house was filled with kid noise, and the xbox got a work out, Donna baked a couple of pans of Brownies, one is a gift and the other will start to disappear as soon as it cools,

Even though we didn't get to make our first snowbird trip this year, Things always seem to work out, My trip to PA. to nurse for my Sister Wendy worked out, by the way I got a Skype call from her yesterday with an update, she went to the Doctor Thursday, and he put on a monthly schedule now instead of every two weeks, he also recommended increasing her Therapy visits to twice a week instead of once, and told her to increase the ultrasound machine use at home. He said she is doing really well on her recovery and this will make it hopefully faster. I know she is really happy with the fact that she will be may be able to dispense with the walker for a cane before warm weather gets here. She said she is going upstairs now many times a day and that the railings I installed are a God send.

Here in the home front my Son & his girlfriend Samantha are bringing the kid's over just about every weekend, (we missed last weekend). So we have a house full of Grandkids just about every weekend.

Life is good here at the Weeb Ranch, as I have said before nothing makes a house a home more than when it is filled with the sound of children's laughter, we are so blessed that the three get along so well, And Sam is tickled that not only Sadie got over her initial shyness, but Nicole too, He is in seventh heaven as he never had a daughter and his Gran daughter always lived out of state.

Hope Life is Good for the rest of all our friends out there in Blogland, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Friday, January 14, 2011

First of all I want to Welcome, some new followers, they didn't have pictures or blogs so I may have missed them since they were put at the end of my follower list which I didn't see, But I found them when the count got higher and the pictures stayed the same. So a big welcome to, ROCKKRAM, PURPLEPARROT, ROBERT JAE, & JOHN.CUMBERLAND, I couldn't find any blogs listed so if I missed it please leave a comment with the blog title and I will post it, if not enjoy the ride with this family of mine as we work our way to full timing in our 5th wheel, and the adventures we have at home.

We were up at the usual 04:30am and had coffee, I have said before that the minute my feet hit the floor I make the bed, just a habit from my military days, but the re is now another reason, the minute I have the top comforter smoothed out. I get two lops up on the bed for their morning kisses and lovin. Here I'll show you.

Sadie is not the least bit shy about claiming her place with Grandpa, and will crawl all over Rigg's to get at me for her kiss. Big ole Rigg's is like Gentle Ben and takes it all in stride, it's amazing how he can put her whole head is his mouth and yet be so gentle. God has been good to us with these two little creatures that only want love and affection from you. They must be country dogs at heart because they are up early with us every morning. But after I go downstairs to my office on the computer they both sneak up on the couch for a nap.

Last night I got a call from Adam's Mom asking if I could pick him up at noon because he only had school a half day and she had to work until 04:00PM I said sure and went out this morning and got him, When we got back Samantha was there with Chris, he didn't have school either, so Adam was happy he is having his playmates here this weekend, poor Nicole had a full day of school so she will be over later. I made the big kid's, Andy & Samantha happy by offering to take the three kid's to Pizza Street for supper , I told them that way they could have a nice dinner just the two of them. I forgot to mention that I hadn't taken any pizza shells out of the freezer, but Pizza Street is cheap and they have games and an ice cream bar, Even Grandpa likes it there.

That's about it for today, I hope you all are enjoying a little bit warmer weather, it got all the way up to 40 here in Dardenne Prairie. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna...

Thursday, January 13, 2011

This is the first thing I saw when I went to the coffee pot at 04:30AM, 8 degrees, it is supposed to warm to the low 20's this afternoon, That thermometer in on the outside of the window and has seen better days, I guess after 20 years it has had it, guess when it warms up I will break down and get one of those fancy inside out side jobs like I have in the trailer.

Donna headed out to the truck company at 05:30AM, today the roads are dry and she could leave at normal time. She has the restaurant, tonight so I will be batching it around here, My son & his girlfriend will be going out, so I will be cooking something easy for one, throw down a couple cold ones, and that's it for dinner.

This week has been a pretty good one, I got back in touch with my Grandaughter, and my one son in New Jersey, funny how life is, I am sure there are bloggers out there that are going through the same thing or have in the past. Today it seems once the kid's are out of the nest you don't hear from them much, From the time I got out of the Navy until she died, I would call my Mom every Saturday night, I even had a deal worked out with the City I worked for that if I was on the 3-11 shift I would call from my office and they would just tell how much the calls were at the end of the month and I would reimburse them, I never missed and even after she was gone I would catch myself picking up the phone after dinner on Saturdays and start dialing her number, and then I would catch myself and go, Am I crazy or what. My brother on the other hand didn't call her for ten years, he hasn't talked to me in a year and I am the only relative he has here in MO. But anyway the kids would call and then as they got older they stopped except once in awhile on holidays. Now my oldest son keeps in almost daily touch by e-mail but the next two in line have lives and families of their own and I very seldom hear from them, but now with the internet and e-mail I will be able to keep in touch without taking the time to make a call. My youngest still lives with us so it will be interesting to see if he does get married how much we will hear from him once he's out.

Not much to blog about today the truck is still covered in snow like the header shows, I haven't touched it in three days, who would have thought in my younger days I wouldn't go somewhere, in three days, but it looks like I will plug it in when Donna goes to work tomorrow and then fire it up later in the morning since there are only 6 High Lifes left in the fridge, so tomorrow the Emergency Low Beer Warning light will be on. I will make a trip to store, and get meals for the weekend and Mon-Tues when Donna is home.

Hope all is well out there, all I read about is everyone saying how cold the rest of the country is, except maybe Yuma AZ. I think it was 70 there today.

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Oh yeah Rigg's and Sadie are playing inside today, it's to cold for either one of them..

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

We were up at the usual and had our coffee, it was about 7 degrees with a wind chill of -15 degree's, Donna's car is in my garage stall and my truck is outside because my son's race car is in her stall.I finally got down to the computer after Donna went to work, Then later in the morning my Son Sam in New York told Donna his brother Tim had made an unexpected visit and said to say hi to Pop. Out of the blue she suggested that I try to find a Facebook address for our Granddaughter ( Tim's Daughter), so I fiddled for about a half hour and I never really find anyone it's like Skype , if you don't know exactly what the person is using the search is useless, I did however find one listing for an Allie Weibel no address but it had a picture of a very pretty young lady so I decided to take a chance and ask for a friendship since we haven't had any pictures sent for many years, I thought it was a possibility since she is 18 years old now, so I sent her a message telling her who I was and did she live on that street, well it turns out it is my Granddaughter and she sent me a confirmation and a couple of messages, I sent her my e-mail address and my blog website, I am extremely a happy camper this afternoon, as my son Tim doesn't ever call and we haven't been out to New Jersey to their home in years.

My Granddaughter Alexandria ( Allie ) Weibel.

My Son Tim & Allie on her Prom Day.

It turned out to be a double header as Allie Had my Son Rick's address and I finally got in contact with him since our last trip east.

My Son Rick & his girlfriend Stephanie.

Allie has a boyfriend named Rocco, I am sure he is of Italian ancestry, so I told her I would make a pizza today and post a picture of it so they could drool over it.

Here you go Kid's what do you think..

It has turned out to be a really neat day for us, and I hope we can stay in contact with the kid's in New Jersey now better.

I hope everyone out there is having a good day and the temperatures start to rise soon for all of us, I sure wish we could see our way through to a trip south this spring, but right now it isn't looking that way. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna......

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

It was up early and we awoke to about 4 inches of fresh snow. Rigg's loves it, but poor little Sadie just barely gets off the stoop, it's awful to have two inch legs and four inch snow to walk in, No wonder she has trouble finding a place to go potty. She will run and frolic for a few minutes until she realizes it's cold and wet then she comes running for the back door. Rigg's on the other hand loves to run and push the snow with his nose and he will stay out as long as you let him.

Rigg's almost to the back fence, it's hard to shoot through glass and zoom at the same time .

Here he is sharing his food with his little sister, she is chewing it up while he smells to make sure.

I get a kick out of watching him, he will take a small amount of food out of his dish maybe a half a dozen pieces at a time and will drop them on the floor and then Sadie will come over and gobble them up and when he is satisfied she ate them he will eat some himself and then give her another handout. Never had a dog that would share like that, When we had the Husky and the Shepherd. Misty the Husky would not allow Sir Coal near the food dish until she was finished no matter how tough he thought he was, she was the boss at mealtime.

My Son Andy said he would take John Deere out and plow this morning so I am waiting to see when that occurs, if not I have all day to get it done before Donna gets home from work, She left a half hour early at 05:00AM and said the highway was slick but if you went slow it was okay, she did say there was a lot of cars in the ditch and median from last night. I tried to talk her into staying home as she has tons of time left on the books but she would have none of that.

Here's a picture for JUDY she has a picture at the end of her blogs, that usually says the End.

I guess I have to call this Both Ends.

As you can see Rigg's is a little lighter in the back end now, but he is really doing fine, he hasn't shown any interest at all in his stitches, I check him daily and he is healing well no sign of redness or infection. it's been 6 days since his surgery, I have to bring him in to have the stitches removed on the 10th day, I hope he won't be a handful, His bark is just as deep as ever and he is back to being his mischievous stealer self. He got a hold of the channel changer again and one of Mom's Croc's over the weekend. Luckily no damage to either one as we noticed it right away, but he can slip in and snatch something in a second, especially if Donna or I are paying attention to Sadie, He loves her, but he is sure an attention hound.

Poor Sadie, my sons girlfriend shaved her rear and tail as she was having trouble keeping that area clean when she went potty, she looks funny with a bald back end. But it sure was a good idea as no more messy fur back there.

Not much else going on, just a winter day watching the snow in Dardenne Prairie. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna....